Friday, July 10, 2015

The end

I'm very embarrassed to be finally writing this post a year and a half late. But with the phrase "better late than never" in mind, I would like to share with you the post I have been looking forward to writing for so very long.

Although, now that I look through the pictures, I'm thinking back on all the good memories and how hard we worked - it brings a tear to my eye. We miss it there.

Anyway, before I cry.. :)

The front loungeroom.

This picture was taken by the realestate agent before we moved in. It almost looked the same, minus the picture and the fire guard. The carpet was a remnant, threadbare and loose. The nice new wallboards you can see were hiding rising damp and missing render, and a mouse highway.

The loungeroom when we were done fixing the mess, turned into a comfortable, cozy, beautiful room.

Bedroom 2

This is the spare bedroom. It had nothing on the floor, cracks all over the walls and a huge cupboard taking up most of the room. It would always have to remain a single-bed room, so that's what we did.

I really had fun stripping back and painting that door. :)

Loungeroom 2

The before pic was an agent photo again - and the lounge looked exactly the same when we moved in minus the TV, stand and chair. Infact, this was the first room we slept in, because it was mid winter, and freezing - not to mention drafty as well.

This room was the most challenging room to renovate by far. The walls in the before photo are what people referred to as hemp-board. They covered the brick wall behind, which needed a lot of repair. The concrete floors were removed, and a massive amount of sand, rubble and bricks were shovelled out of the bedroom window, one shovel at a time. It was after living with no floor for far too long when we found the builder of our dreams - Gary! He came and gave us direction and put in the new floor. Straight floors, with insulation and everything! Bliss!!

There was a new ceiling put up, plaster work all around, painted in lime wash and carpet, and oh my gosh! We *loved* this room!

The master bedroom

The before picture doesn't even begin to describe this room. It felt like Alice in Wonderland, with the ceiling going in one direction, the floor falling to another. In short, we didn't sleep in here until after the all the renovations were finished!

A room full of sand and odd things, like an old torpedo bottle, an old shoe and even a skeleton of a cat! Everything weird and creepy - another reason not to sleep in there! Haha. It was a really comfortable and warm room afterwards though.

Bedroom doorway, completely rebuilt - before and after.

Lime is an amazing paint to work with. It goes on so dark, and turns into a beautiful pastel.

Through to the kitchen

Instead of a "ramp" made by the concrete sloping down into the kitchen, we made it step properly down into it. The step we made with a section of the old mantle shelf above the fireplace in loungeroom 2. It fit perfectly and it was so beautiful once the ugly white paint had been sanded away.

The kitchen

Probably the room that had least done, yet doing it made one of the biggest differences to our lives and to the look and feel of the place. First up, we took out that horrible vinyl floor, and eventually we found Sten, who made the kitchen more than workable, but a pleasure to be in. (Sten is the Ikea island bench, by the way!)

Oh, and replaced the tiny sink, and the useless rangehood, and added a single-drawer dishwasher as well. Oh the luxury! Painting the kitchen was a surprisingly big job, but it made such a difference. Yellow is so much more uplifting than .. whatever the original colour was. We still don't know!

Oh the cupboard! The previous owner left that thing in the kitchen, full of mouse stuff! YUCK! Now THAT was the first thing we got rid of, come to think of it!

Oh our Nectre Bakers Oven. We miss that during the winter - baked potatoes and enough heat to make you open the windows. :)

The bathroom

The original bathroom was very cramped and cold. Not exactly somewhere to relax.

This was Gary the builder's finest work at the Old Miners Cottage. A bathroom to be comfortable in. All the walls, floor and ceiling were replaced. We basically started again. For a small space, we did our best to make it open and airy. We loved this room so much, because it made us feel human again after a long day.

The back room

Essentially, an enclosed veranda, very unfinished and under-utilised space.

A bit of paint and a lot of sanding of the floor, and it just helped finish off the area. It made a nice "mud room", where coats, hats and shoes were removed.

The Laundry

Just a simple paint, tidy-up and adding a little storage. It was actually quite a simple transformation. Mum and Mike came down to help with this last little thing, and did a bang-up job too! I suddenly felt like doing the laundry after that. It was a pleasure to be in there!

And so..

2008

2013

It's goodbye from Marty and me, because less than two week after putting our old cottage on the market, a sweet older couple snapped it up. I hope the cottage is being good to them, and I hope they're enjoying their retirement there.

As for us, we were able to move to the farm we purchased years ago, and basically start renovating all over again!

Your old cottage looks fantastic! I'm sure the new owners appreciate all your hard work. I often get nostalgic when looking back at our old chicken coops, or stuff we started long ago! I can't believe how quickly those years go by. Thanks for the link to your new blog. Exciting stuff!

Wow! Well done guys - a true labour of love. I have enjoyed following your adventures, and was wondering where you had got to. I will find your new blog and follow that too. Thanks for sharing your experiences and for doing such a sensitive restoration on your lovely old cottage. We need more people like you!!